Racing heart at 4am

[AugustIsNeitherHereNorThereIFeel]

Last night I woke up with a racing heart and I felt weird. Just not myself. it was about 4am.

I’m 55, and I did have a very sugary dessert about 5pm, then 2 margaritas about 9pm.

I don’t usually eat sugar, or drink tequila. I had one, then had another mistakenly bought for me.

I’m lying here worried and also feeling blehhh from the sugar and I’ve a hangover.

Do you think there is a connection?

Sounds like a very low blood sugar incident. The alcohol and sugary dessert will probably have played a role.

The racing heart is from the adrenaline and cortisol your body released to try to raise your glucose level.

Are you anxious about anything? I used to get this a fair bit before and never linked it to anxiousness and / or stress but with time I worked out it was usually when I had loads going on. Felt it in my whole body, like I was going to have a heart attack

I did think OMG is this a panic attack, but I’m actually in a very good place e right now.

I am a bit of a health freak and eat very clean and am very fit. I had a very sugary dessert loaded with whipped cream at 5pm, then a very sickly Wagamama then the tequila.

2 cocktails at 9 - I'd definitely have woken up early with a fast heart rate. I think it's the booze :(. After 40 any more than a couple of units in the evening does this to me. The only way to avoid it is to have my drinks at lunch

I tend to think a thundering heart in the night after drinking/eating heavily is just your body keeping busy dealing with all the stuff you've thrown at it. No fun though, almost enough to put you off eating/drinking late (I'm also in my 50s).

It could be the salt from the wagamamas. I get heart palpitations from Domino’s pizza so I try to avoid it as much as I can

I’ve occasionally woken in the night feeling as though my heart is racing. But now I’ve got an Apple Watch I’ve realised it isn’t really - it might be a bit faster than its usual overnight resting rate but not worryingly fast. Which is reassuring and calms the panicky feeling. If you don’t already, it may be worth checking your pulse if this sort of thing happens again.

I’ve had this happen three times, for the first two times I needed treatment in A&E, the the third time required me to call 999 but I avoided going to hospital as the paramedics stayed with me until it self resolved.

After my second episode I was started on beta blockers and I was referred for an ECG and an ultrasound. I have also had a cardiac ablation to try and find the cause of the episodes.

It turns out I have some minor structural anomaly including an occasional anomaly with how my conduction system works which was causing me to go into SVT. It can’t be treated though so I have just remained on the beta blockers.

I have been on beta blockers for 10 years now and although I still get the occasional episode of palpitations I haven’t had another episode of SVT.

Keep an eye on it OP and depending on how severe it is next time (if it happens), and how long it lasts for it may need a trip to A&E for treatment. If it doesn’t require a hospital trip still make sure your GP knows.

I get it if I forget to take the progesterone element of my HRT at night.

A friend of mine had an Aura ring; it tracks your heart rate and makes health recommend through an app. The app could tell when she’d had a late dinner, it was a massively important factor in her sleep quality. It’s almost definitely the sugary food late on, plus alcohol.
Alcohol really disrupts my sleep, even if it helps you drop off to start with, it wakes me up at 3 or 4.